College is an exciting time. New experiences, new friends, new cities – the list can go on and on. However, college is also a time where your faith can be challenged. Faith can be hard to hold onto, and at times it feels easier to completely walk away. 

As followers of Christ it is easy to think that life will be butterflies and roses as long as Jesus is on our side, but this has not been my experience. My time in college has been trial after trial.  

During freshman year my best friend passed away in a car accident. Since then I have lost a total of three people in my life, all within a single year. Adding to that, during that same time-frame, I lost my job, changed majors, lost two pets, lost an entire friend group and was discriminated against because of my faith. 

This year has seen its fair share of trials as well. With each blow this year, my faith began to dwindle, little by little, until it was barely there. I lost sight of who I was and everything that strengthened my faith slowly left my life. It felt as though God abandoned me. I became someone I couldn’t even recognize. 

It took God slapping me in the face to wake me up. Thanks to two very close friends that never stopped loving me, God was able to shake me to my core, to make me feel again, to help me live again and to make me realize His love for me again. 

Now why am I telling you a very summarized version of my testimony? The answer is quite simple. College is not an easy time and faith can be completely lost in it.

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This is not to thrash your idea of college. That is not my intent. John 16:33 says, “In the world you will have tribulation.” In the middle of this verse Christ promises that we will face tribulation in this world. It is a fact of life. In college, we are thrown into a melding pot of different beliefs, people and cultures. That is not bad though. It is a chance to grow as an individual; however, it becomes a problem when we get so caught up in trying to learn about everyone else’s beliefs that we lose our own. 

How do we combat this? There are six topics that I want to write about over the course of this semester. The first? Study. 

Spend time in the Word. Actively read it as though you were reading a textbook. The difference between the two being that the Bible is that, stated in Hebrews 4:12, “The word of God is living and active.” John 1:1 says that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I don’t know about your textbooks, but none of mine have ever been described like that. They are typically boring and dead; however, we study them with our utmost attention. 

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To maintain our faith, we need to give as much attention to the Word as we do our textbooks. When you spend time with the Bible, and intensely study it, you find God, you grow in your relationship with Him and you are able to resist the pressures to stray away in college. 

So, how do you even start to read the Bible? Let’s say you have never read the Bible. First glance it seems like a pretty intimidating read. The best way to start is by starting small. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. A close mentor of mine suggested starting in Proverbs. 

Although Proverbs is 31 chapters long it is the perfect place to start developing the habit of actively studying your Bible. I would suggest reading a chapter each day and treat it as though you were studying for a test. 

The first step is finding a time you can set aside to read. You know your schedule best, so make time so that you can spend with The Lord. During this time minimize distractions, turn on worship music, turn off your phone, and do whatever you need to stay focused. 

Now I’m not claiming to be perfect at this. There are times I completely put reading the Word on the back burner. When I do make the time to read I find myself more at peace. There is power in the pages of the Bible, it just takes us opening its pages to find it. 

Editor’s note: The expression of faith is a constitutionally protected right, as is freedom of speech and freedom of the press. This press publication has allowed the constitutional rights to be expressed in the opinions section. The Criterion is not declaring itself a Christian publication; it is merely allowing a Christian to voice a message of positivity to other Christians on campus.

The appearance of this column does not exclude other religions. Inclusion of one individual or group does not constitute exclusion of another. If any other faiths would like to similarly express themselves, The Criterion welcomes them to do so. Our publication is, and has always been, the voice of the students.